Come to any event at the Great Hall of the People in the heart of Beijing, and you’re bound to see red.

As the hulking venue for official pomp and ceremony hosts the annual meeting of China’s rubber-stamp parliament this month, flags of scarlet line the building’s rooftops, red carpets cover its floors and hostesses in long ruby-colored dresses welcome dark-suited delegates.

Red has long be special in Chinese culture, representing good fortune — but not necessarily its rulers. For centuries, China’s emperors were equated with the color yellow while they surrounded themselves with walls of deep vermilion. Not until after the Communist Party swept to power in 1949, did red,…

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